Gongsun Chou asked Mencius: “What is the principle behind scholars not seeking audiences with feudal lords?”
Wan Zhang asked Mencius: “Song is a small state. If it now implements kingly governance (benevolent governance), and Qi and Chu resent it and attack – what should it do?”
Zhou Xiao asked: “Did the gentlemen of ancient times take office?”
Jing Chun said: “Aren’t Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi truly great men? When they get angry, feudal lords tremble; when they stay at ease, wars across the world cease.”
Chen Dai said to his teacher Mencius: “You refuse to visit feudal lords – it seems overly modest, even petty. If you’d just go see one once, at best you could implement the Kingly Way; at least, you might help him achieve hegemony. And as the old saying goes: ‘Bend one chi (about a…
The Mohist scholar Yi Zhi, through Xu Bi (a disciple of Mencius), requested to meet Mencius. Mencius said: “I’d be glad to see him, but I’m still unwell. Once I recover, I’ll go to him – Yi Zhi need not come!”